We've had a relatively quiet month or so though thankfully it does end with a flurry of notable bouts.
On paper the two stand out bouts are set to take place in California and feature 4 Mexican fighters in bouts that both promise a lot of action. The “lesser” of those bouts will see Hugo Ruiz (35-2, 31) take on Julio Ceja (29-1, 26) in a bout for the WBC “interim” Super Bantamweight title. Of the two men Ruiz is the more experienced and the more tested, having had a run as the WBA “interim” Bantamweight champion and having fought several notable fighters, including Koki Kameda. Ceja on the other hand is a fast rising youngster who, at just 22, appears to have been around for years. For many Ceja's stand out bout was a loss, in the UK, to Jamie McDonnell though he has improved since then. This looks like it's got the ingredients to be a FOTY contender. The “bigger” bout sees the unbeaten Leo Santa Cruz (30-0-1, 17) battle against the once beaten Abner Mares (29-1-1, 15) in a bout for the WBC “Diamond” Featherweight title. Cruz is stepping up to 126lbs for this bout though should fill in to the weight comfortably given his frame. For Mares this is the first significant bout since he was stopped, in just 175 seconds by Jhonny Gonzalez more than 2 years ago. Sadly this fight, which looked like an amazing one 30 months ago, now seems likely to fall short of expectation with both fighters looking poor in recent bouts. A couple of notable under-card bouts here will feature fast rising Argentinian brothers Brian Carlos Castano (9-0, 8), who faces Jonathan Batista (14-6, 7), and Alan Emmanuel Castano (8-0, 5), who faces Tom Howard (8-4, 4). Whilst both of these are mismatches we do suggest keeping an eye on both of the unbeaten men who will likely go to title level over the coming years. Staying in California, albeit on a different show, fans will get two notable bouts. The headliner here will be a rematch between former multi-weight world champions as Shane Mosley (47-9-1-1, 39) battles Ricardo Mayorga (31-8-1-1, 25). Given that the men have a combined age of 84 and have rally failed to score a win of note in years this really resembles a farcical cash grab. The other bout of note is a female world title bout as Yulihan Alejandra Luna Avila (12-2, 1) defends her IBF female Super Bantamweight title against Maureen Shea (24-2, 12). We'd really not be shocked by this one outshining the supposedly bigger bout, at least in terms of action. The remaining action of note comes from Ukraine where two talented fighters have caught out eye. One of those is Cruiserweight sensation Oleksandr Usyk (7-0, 7), who looks to extend his perfect record against Johnny Muller (19-4-2, 13). Usyk looks almost ready to challenge for a world title and we'd not be shocked at all if his next bout is for a major belt. For Muller he's been picked to be the next victim and we can't see him doing anything to really trouble the 2012 Olympic gold medal winner. The other is Denys Berinchyk (0-0) who makes his long awaited professional debut against Tarik Madni (19-8-1, 1). On paper it's a tricky debut for Berinchyk but given his amateur pedigree it's hard to see anything but a a win for the 2012 Olympic, and 2011 World Amateur, Silver medal winner. With out trying to sound too over-the-top this kid has the potential to be moved very quickly as an amateur and it'd be a huge surprise if he's not looking at world title fights in the next 24 months.
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It's very rare in boxing that we see the fighters regarded as the male and female pound-for-pound #1's in action on the same day though that's exactly what we got this Saturday and although both won their bouts they each did so in distinctly different ways. The first pound-for-pound ruler to be in action was boxing queen Cecilia Braekhus (26-0, 7) who made history by becoming the first ever female fighter to unify the so-called "Big 4" world titles. Braekhus's was as dominant as they come as she thoroughly out boxed, out punched and out classed Ivana Habazin (13-2, 5) to add the IBF female Welterweight crown to her collection of the WBA, WBC and WBO belts. Whilst we know female boxing is the "second class citizen" of the boxing world Braekhus still deserves full credit for achieving something only previously done by Bernard Hopkins, who did the same in the Middleweight division. Universally regarded as the #1 pound for pound fighter without a "Y" chromosome Breakhus is a genuinely special fighter who really has no equal in, or around, her division. Several hours after Braekhus had shown off her skills to her loyal Scandinavian fans we then got the chance to see the male pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather (47-0, 26) in action. Mayweather was fighting just his second ever rematch as a professional and was battling against Argentina's Marcos Maidana (35-5, 31). The first fight between the two had been great, competitive and exciting with both showing their dirty sides in what was a genuinely good bout. This time around however the fight lacked something as referee Kenny Bayless became too involved, breaking the men repeatedly through the course of 12 rounds. The breaking was not only killing any chance of Maidana making the bout competitive but also breaking any flow of the bout which was haunted by holding throughout. Over the course of the 12 rounds Mayweather did more than enough to retain his WBA and WBC Welterweight crowns and even hinted at a Pacquiao bout next time out, it was clear however that he is not the fighter he once was. We'll be controversial and state that we don't think Mayweather actually is the #1 any more, in fact we tend to feel that Nicaraguan sensation Roman Gonzalez is the top fighter irregardless of weight. If you've not seen the little Nicaraguan terror you're really missing out on one of the sports truly terrific offensive fighters. Prior to the Mayweather bout there had been 4 televised bouts, 3 of which were part of the pay-per-view broadcast. The first of the televised bouts from the card saw the show's most exciting bout as former world champion Humberto Soto (65-8-2-1, 35) out pointed the all-action John Molina (27-5, 22) in a thoroughly fun, though foul filled, bout. The fight saw Soto using his experience and edge in skills to clearly win a number of rounds against the one dimensional Molina however the bout also saw numerous low blows. The low blows saw deducted 2 points and Soto deducted 1 point. Despite the low blows and deductions the bout was really good and a brilliant way for Soto to prove he is still relevant on the world scene. The first of the PPV bouts again saw low blows as James De la Rosa (23-2, 13) scored a career defining victory over the now shot looking Alfredo Angulo (22-5, 18). We loved watching Angulo in the past though he looked a shadow of his former self and was dropped in round 2 by De la Rosa en route to a relatively one sided loss. Angulo was deducted a point for low blows in round 7 and although he made a strong comeback in the final rounds he was a clear, clear, loser of the 10 round non-title bout. Although we did love watching Angulo in his prime we really wish to see him, and for what it's worth Juan Manuel Lopez, retire before taking more punishment. "El Perro" is no longer a marauding beast of a man and is actually going to take a lot of damage if he continues to get in the ring, even against limited fighters. Sadly the second bout on the PPV was among the worst bouts we've seen this year. The bout saw Mickey Bey (21-1-1-1, 10) take a very controversial split decision win over Miguel Vazquez (34-4, 13) to claim the IBF Lightweight title. The bout a real stinker and we'd suggest using it as a cure for insomnia, or a torture method for captured enemy spies, trust us they would break if you showed them this fight on a loop. Although the bout was a stinker it's action, or rather lack of, was massively over-shadowed by the frankly disgusting card of Robert Hoyle who awarded the bout to Bey with a score of 119-109. The bout had been close and although we felt Vazquez had won it was close. To hand in a score of 119-109 for the bout isn't just questionable but it looks as close to corrupt as any card in recent memory. Genuinely atrocious bout with an atrocious score card. The penultimate PPV bout, prior to the Mayweather/Maidana bout, saw WBC Super Bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16) make very light work of the over-matched and under-sized Manuel Roman (17-3-3, 6). Roman was stopped in the second round of what was really a farce. For those who paid the PPV price for the Mayweather show, we feel really sorry for you and hope that the American scene will wake up and realise it's killing it's own fan base. PPV it's self isn't terrible but a poor quality product at an over-inflated price, as we had tonight, is awful for the sport and we'd not be surprised if this PPV seriously failed to deliver the numbers hoped for. Hopefully a poor number of sales will help either reduce the cost of the sport or even help move bigger fights back to the cable networks, afterall the sport is growing in countries where the fights aren't on PPV, countries like Germany and Japan being notable examples and both being able to interest a huge fan base. As well as the action in Denmark and the US we also had action from the UK as WBA Super Bantamweight champion Scott Quigg (29-0-2, 22) successfully defended his title with a 3rd round stoppage of Belgium's Stephane Jamoye (26-6, 16). Jamoye, known for his relatively recent loss to Shinsuke Yamanaka, took the fight to Quigg though was out muscled, over-powered and eventually stopped with a sickening body shot. On paper a 3rd round TKO over Jamoye does look impressive for Quigg, though Jamoye was a late replacement for Paulus Ambunda and got only around 3 weeks notice for the fight. Quigg seemed to hint at a possible clash with Carl Frampton though in all honesty we'd steer Quigg away from that fight as we'd strongly favour the Northern Irishman who looks the more complete fighter by far. Saying that there are plenty of interesting fights Quigg could have, such as a battle with Leo Santa Cruz, Chris Avalos or Shingo Wake, all of which would be very good bouts. (Image courtesy of Badlefthook.com) Some days are marked on your calendar weeks, if not months, in advance. It's fair to say boxing fans world wide marked September 13th on their calendars weeks ago due to the day being one of the most important boxing days of the year. The importance of the day can be summed up in one word. "Mayweather". That's because American mega-star Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26) returns to the ring to defend his WBA Welterweight title and his WBC titles at both Welterweight and Light Middleweight against Argentina's big punching Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31). The fight is a rematch from their contest this past May, a bout that saw Mayweather narrowly beating Maidana in one of the toughest bouts of Mayweather's career, and although many Mayweather to win it's obvious that Maidana has the ability and attitude to make life difficult for the American fighter. Whilst the main event is well worth getting excited about the rest of the show looks lacklustre to say the least. One of the chief support bouts will see the talented and unbeaten Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15) defending his WBC Super Bantamweight title against the limited and much smaller Manuel Roman (17-2-3-1, 6). Roman is a capable fighter but not a world class one and he has gone 3-2-2 in his last 7 bouts with only Randy Caballero really being a notable opponent during that stretch of bouts. With sounding harsh really expect Santa Cruz to mow Roman down inside 7 rounds and it's a huge shame Santa Cruz couldn't get a more notable opponent in the ring such as Shingo Wake or even Shinsuke Yamanaka who was talking about a bout with Santa Cruz earlier this year. Another world title bout on this show will see the talented but frustrating Miguel Vazquez (34-3, 13) defending his IBF Lightweight title against the well schooled but unexciting Mickey Bey (20-1-1-1, 10). Bey, for all his skills, lacks power and has serious question marks over his chin. Vazquez also lacks power but has the ability to neutralise opponents strengths. With the fighters involved we expect this one to be a sleep inducing contest so if you're staying up for the main event you may want a few coffees prior the Vazquez/Bey bout which we think could cure insomnia. Although the main support bouts are disappointing we are looking forward to an under-card bout between Mexican veteran Humberto Soto (64-8-2-1, 35) and the limited but fun John Molina (27-4, 22). We had hoped to see Molina fight a rematch with Lucas Martin Matthysse though this isn't a bad alternative given the styles of the two men involved. The Santa Cruz/Roman bout isn't the only Super Bantamweight title bout of the day and in the UK British fans will get the chance to see WBA champion Scott Quigg (28-0-2, 21) defend his belt against Belgian fighter Stephane Jamoye (26-5, 16). Jamoye, who recently fought Shinsuke Yamanaka, will be moving up in weight for this bout though we do actually expect an interesting bout here. Quigg is naturally bigger that Jamoye though the Belgian is rarely in a bad fight and there is a chance these two will go toe-to-toe for a few rounds of real excitement before Quigg's natural strength over-comes Jamoye. In a female bout in Germany fans will get the chance to see an historic contest as the great Cecilia Braekhus (25-0, 7) attempts to add the IBF female Welterweight title to her collection of belts and complete the set. In the opposite corner to Braekhus will be current IBF champion Ivana Habazin (13-1, 5) who will be looking to score the biggest win of her career. With the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF titles all up for grab here this bout is arguable as important to female boxing as the Mayweather/Maidana bout is to boxing in general. (Image courtesy of http://www.mydish.com) Most busy days in the boxing world have a world title fight as their signature bout. This weekend however the title fights took a back seat to an all Mexican clash between hard hitting fighters in a contest dubbed "Toe-to-Toe". There was title fights going on but they were ever so slightly in the background. The title major bout, the headline act if you will, saw former Light Middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31) score arguably his biggest victory as he stopped fellow Mexican Alfredo Angulo (22-4, 18) in what was an entertaining, though one sided, contest. Canelo took control from the onset with his superior speed and skills and although Angulo took the shots well early on they did began to damage up his face rather badly by the middle rounds. Canelo, after running up a clear lead on the scorecards, seemed to slow down in round 6 before turning on the style in round 9 to further punish Angulo who appeared to be building his confidence for one or two rounds. Unfortunately though the 9th round effectively finished off Angulo who took a huge uppercut early in round 9 before referee Tony Weeks stepped in. The stoppage, a controversial one for sure, seemed to come when Angulo was still fighting back and had his senses, even if he was badly marked up at the time. The victory for Canelo is likely to be his final one as a pseudo Light Middleweight and it seems almost certain that his next fight will be as a fully blown Middleweight. Earlier on the same card WBC Super Bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15) managed to make his second defence of the title as he easily defeated Cristian Mijares (49-8-2, 24). The bout, one sided through out, saw Mijares's ring craft keeping him up right but he was too small to ever really the champion who appeared to win every round with out many questions really being asked of him. Despite the clear victory we are starting to wonder if Santa Cruz is as good as we first thought. He no longer looks like a grinding machine but has been made to look somewhat light hitting by naturally smaller men in his last 2 fights. After that fight there were comments suggesting that Santa Cruz was likely to fight the unbeaten Carl Frampton next. There is a lot of talk in Japan about Shinsuke Yamanaka wanting a fight with Santa Cruz and on this performance we genuinely think that Yamanaka would take care of the Mexican without too many issues. In fact on this performance a fighter like Shingo Wake would actually give Santa Cruz a lot of problems. Also on this card we saw former WBC Super Featherweight title challenger Sergio Thompson (29-3, 26) manage to take a decision over Ricardo Alvarez (23-3-3, 14). Thompson, who fought Takashi Miura last year, twice dropped Alvarez and although he looked a clear winner the judges would have the bout a majority draw had it not been for the knockdowns. The action didn't stop there however and the card also saw Jorge Linares (36-3, 25) defeat Nihito Arakawa (24-4-1, 16) in a hard fought but clear bout and a notable upset as the world ranked Will Tomlinson (21-1-1, 12) suffered a hugely shocking loss. Tomlinson, who began the night as the WBC #7 and #8 IBF ranked Super Featherweight, was widely out pointed by the unheralded Jerry Belmontes (19-3, 5) in what was clearly the upset of the weekend. Aside from the Santa Cruz/Mijares bout there was only one other "world title" title bout as WBA interim Light Flyweight champion Alberto Rossel (31-8-0-1, 13) made the 4th defense of his title as he over-came the challenge of Gabriel Mendoza (19-3-2, 16). Mendoza was the WBA #15 ranked Light Flyweight coming in to this bout and was also the WBO #13 and IBF #15 ranked ranked Minimumweight meaning that we expect to see notable changes in the rankings of all three organsiations. Rossel was one of the 3 "WBA champions" at Light Flyweight a month or so or go but right now is the sole claimant after both Roman Gonzalez and Kazuto Ioka vacated their titles. This means that a number of Asian fighters, including Randy Petalcorin and Rey Loreto, could be looking at a WBA title fight in the near future. In the UK the stand out was the very promising Paul Butler (15-0, 8) who managed to dominate and then stop the completely over-matched Oreste Bernabe Nieva (15-3-2, 6). The bout never looked competitive and Butler just did as he wished before sending the Argentinian down for the count with a debilitating body shot. Ranked #6 by the WBO, #9 by the IBF, #10 by the WBC and #12 by the WBA at Super Flyweight Butler is a name who will be on the radar of Asian fighters such as Srisaket Sor Rungvisai though he does appear to need a stiffer test than Nieva before being ready for a world title challenge. Then again his natural talent is obvious and he's the sort of fighter who could make his name at either 115lbs of 118lbs and be a top challenger alongside the likes of Ryosuke Iwasa. (Picture courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions) Some days in boxing are there for the hardcore fans, some are for the mainstream fans but many blur the lines with a little bit for everyone. This coming Saturday appear to be one of those that clearly blurs the lines though has appeal world wide with fights in Europe, North America and South America whilst also featuring fighters from Asia. In fact whilst the day is relatively thin on real world title fights, with just 3 including an interim, it does serve a key feature in helping set up some notable fights in the near future. The two "regular" world title fights are both set to take place on the same card in Nevada. The least interesting of these will see IBF Light Middleweight champion Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6) attempt to make the first defense of his belt against the promising and unbeaten Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13). Charlo, widely regarded as one of the USA's most promising prospects, is taking a huge step up here though if he's as good as hyped he shouldn't struggle with Mexico's often over-looked Molina. Molina however is the king of upsetting the odds and many are tipping him to retain. The second, and by far more interesting, title fight on the Nevada card sees WBC Super Bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15) make the second defense of his title. Santa Cruz is an extremely fun to watch guy who usually brings a lot of pressure and excitement which should make for a great styles match up with his opponent Cristian Mijares (49-7-2, 24) who is a sneaky and technically sound veteran. Mijares will be known to Japanese fans for his two victories over Katsushige Kawashima as well a victory against Teppei Kikui. He's skilled though has a lot of miles on the clock and is seen as a major under-dog against Santa Cruz. The popular belief is that a Santa Cruz victory leaves him with four clear options. He could move up the Featherweight, he could face the unbeaten and highly ranked Carl Frampton, he could call out Anselmo Moreno or, and most interestingly for us, he could answer the challenge of Shinsuke Yamanaka who has repeatedly requested a bout with Santa Cruz. There was supposed to be a third world title bout on this show though unfortunately Omar Figueroa's badly damaged hand saw his bout called off. His scheduled opponent, Ricardo Alvarez (23-2-3, 14), has unfortunately been matched with vicious Mexican Sergio Thompson (28-3, 26) who we imagine will run through Alvarez with relative ease. Thompson, best known for beating Jorge Linares and losing Takashi Miura, is tough, hard hitting and has to be favoured over Alvarez who is lucky to have a well known boxing brother. Talking about brothers that moves us nicely on to Alvarez's brother and the show's main event which features Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (42-1-1, 30) fighting Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18) in what is an exciting all-Mexican Light Middleweight match up. Whilst both men come in to the bout with a loss their is a lot to like about the match. Neither man likes the other, both are usually fun to watch and both are considered to be amongst the top contenders in the division. Excellent match up and a bout that should be thoroughly enjoyable. Also on this card is the main attraction of the night for ourselves, the bout between Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16) and Jorge Linares (35-3, 23). Strangely we get the "interim" title fight in Peru as Peruvian boxing icon Alberto Rossel (31-8-0-1, 13) makes the fourth defense of his WBA "interim" Light Flyweight title. Rossel might be one of the most obscure men parading around as a world champion and this weekend he takes an equally obscure challenger in the form of Gabriel Mendoza (19-2-2, 16). Although Mendoza has an attractive looking record and is ranked by 3 of the 4 title bodies he's not really beaten anyone of note and his crowning achievement saw far is surviving 10 rounds with Carlos Buitrago. The Peruvian card is also expected to feature WBC #7 ranked Minimumweight Ricardo Astuvilca (10-0, 2) in action though his opponent hasn't yet been announced. Staying in Latin American, just a moment longer, there is another notable bout taking place in Mexico as former multi-weight world champion Jorge Arce (62-7-2-1, 47) returns to action against Brazilian Aldimar Silva Santos (19-7, 10). As well as the action in the America's there is, as mentioned earlier, action in Europe with a British card that has some genuine significance to Asian boxing fans. This is because the world ranked Super Flyweight Paul Butler (14-0, 7) is in action. Butler, ranked by all 4 major bodies, could be a potential opponent for someone like Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Daiki Kameda, Koki Kameda, Kohei Kono, Denkaosen Kaovichit, Teiru Kinoshita, Sho Ishida or Oleydong Sithsamerchai. Butler will however need to get past the challenge of Argentina's Oreste Bernabe Nieva (15-2, 6) before those big fights are spoken about in too much detail. |
InternationalWe know that not every fight involves an Asian fighter but a lot of fights do affect Asian fighter. As a result we've decided to add this new section to Asian boxing where we look at selected International bouts. Archives
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